Stefanos receives Fulbright award for doctoral research

October 21, 2014

The Nelson Institute's Sarah Stefanos is one of seven doctoral students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison awarded U.S. Department of Education grants totaling $306,628 through the Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad (DDRA) program. The students will use their DDRA grants to conduct research in other countries for six to 12 months.

Nationally, the education department awarded $2.94 million in DDRA fellowships to 83 doctoral students at 37 institutions in 23 states and the District of Columbia. Stefanos, a rural sociologist, will receive $50,100 to study cotton, diaspora and development in Ethiopia.

With seven awards, UW-Madison received the second-highest number of grants among all institutions, tied with the University of California, Berkley, and just behind the University of California, Los Angeles, which received eight awards. View the full list of UW-Madison recipients.

"All students need to develop global competencies to succeed in their careers and communities in the 21st century, and these programs provide critical support to help educators and students develop these skills," says Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.

The DDRA program is part of the larger Fulbright-Hays Program, which dates to 1961 when the late U.S. Sen. J. William Fulbright sponsored legislation for several programs that aim to increase mutual understanding between America and the rest of the world. For more information and guidance on applying for Fulbright student programs through UW-Madison, visit the International Fellowships Office website.

Stefanos and fellow Nelson Institute graduate student Aleia McCord have also teamed up with partners in Uganda to develop a business model that converts human waste, animal manure and food scraps into fertilizer and biogas through an anaerobic digester. Learn more about their waste to energy initiative.